1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to barrettes for holding a tress of hair, and, more particularly, to a barrette in combination with a system of modularized, interchangeable ornamental appendages for affixment thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well-known in the art, barrettes for holding a tress of hair are widely known and currently in general usage. However, in general such barrettes have been limited in appearance to having only one decorative fixture attached to the outer, noticeable side of the barrette. Examples of such barrettes with fixed ornamentation are included in U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,830, issued in the name of Hannum, Design U.S. Pat. No. 318,540, issued in the name of Carter, and Design U.S. Pat. No. 280,942, issued in the name of Topalian.
The problem of requiring a barrette clasp mechanisms for each and every ornamental fixture was addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,260 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,501, both issued in the name of Kleine. As disclosed in the Kleine references, a barrette is provided including a supporting element upon which a variety of differing ornamental broaches can be attached in an attempt to provide a variety of ornamentation.
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing a system of modularized ornamental appendages for use with a standard hair barrette in order to provide an effective, convenient, and efficient method of interchangeable hair decorations.